Good morning! Sheryl Sandberg testifies at Meta antitrust trial, Santander is continental Europe’s most valuable bank, and the Netherland’s top airline exec is on a texting basis with Delta’s CEO.
– Flying high. Delta CEO Ed Bastian was on the cover of the most recent issue of Fortune, talking about how he improved the airline’s fortunes through a pursuit of the premium flyer, one who’s willing to pay top dollar for perks and business class rather than wait for upgrades.
Delta isn’t the only airline with that strategy. Bastian himself admires KLM, the Dutch airline headed by CEO Marjan Rintel. The Netherlands wasn’t a natural home for a major international hub, my colleague Phil Wahba writes in a Fortune story. The small nation has no need for domestic air travel, but has turned its Amsterdam airport Schipol into a gateway for the rest of Europe, he writes.
Rintel worked at that airport, the fourth-busiest in Europe, for 15 years, then spent another 15 at the national airline. She ran the country’s national rail system before being hired back to lead KLM, which had 12.7 billion euros in revenue last year.
Her strategy has been similar to partner airline Delta’s: premiumization. Lounges have sleep cabins and massages. Business-class seats have lightweight, functional doors. Bastian texted Rintel after flying KLM to compliment its service. “You have no choice but to look around the world, right? The competition comes for you otherwise,” Rintel says of seeing what competitors are doing.
KLM’s fate is intertwined with its country’s, and it now stares down an uncertain global economy. Read Phil’s full story here.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Meta monopoly. At Meta’s antitrust trial yesterday, the company’s former COO Sheryl Sandberg countered claims from the U.S. government that the social media company has created a monopoly. Sandberg said that Meta faced competition from TikTok and that it worked to grow Instagram after the acquisition. New York Times
- Biggest bank. Ana Botín’s Santander became the most valuable bank in continental Europe with a market capitalization of €91.3 billion ($103.8 billion), taking the top spot from UBS, which was hit harder than other lenders by the tariffs. Plus, Santander’s shares have risen by more than a third since January. Financial Times
- Public media. The Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut almost all funding for public media. NPR CEO Katherine Maher said the cuts would be felt the hardest by NPR’s member stations: “If federal funding goes away, that network is absolutely at risk, the quality of service, the ability to cover everyone, people who live in what would otherwise be news deserts.” NPR
- Consumer cost. President Donald Trump’s tariffs could hurt women more than men because of the “pink tariffs” policy. In 2022, tariff rates were, on average, 2.9 percentage points higher on women’s clothing than men’s clothing—and raising tariffs will only cost female consumers more. CNN
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia appointed its first female president, naming Anna Paulson president and CEO. She is currently EVP and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Exelon (no. 187) named Tamla Olivier president and CEO of its operating company BGE. She previously served as SVP and COO of Pepco Holdings, another Exelon operating company.
EnPlusOne Biosciences, an RNA-focused biotech, appointed Clare Murray as CEO. Most recently, she was SVP of corporate development and operations at Life Edit Therapeutics.
Progyny, a women’s health company, named Melissa Cummings COO. She most recently served as EVP and chief customer officer at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.
Sleep Number named Amber Minson EVP and CMO. She was previously chief revenue officer at Blue Apron.
SheerID, an audience engagement platform for brands, appointed Laura Stepp as CHRO. Most recently, she was chief people officer at Modern Executive Solutions.
SYSPRO, a software company for the manufacturing and distribution sectors, appointed Leanne Taylor as chief revenue officer. Most recently, she was SVP of group commercial strategy at Cloud Software Group.
ON MY RADAR
GM’s Mary Barra has to make a $35 billion EV bet work in Trump’s America Bloomberg
Paige Bueckers’ arrival to the Dallas Wings as No. 1 WNBA Draft pick marks a new era The Athletic
Who are the women of the pronatalist movement? New York Times
PARTING WORDS
“I don’t want to have things just happen to me any more.”
— Actor Florence Pugh on taking control of her life
